Boehringer Ingelheim has announced that it is reducing the cost of its oral anticoagulant Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) by 13% to £2.20 per day, from April 1. The move comes two weeks after the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued final guidance recommending the use of Pradaxa for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) with one or more risk factors. Boehringer Igelheim's director of communications, Duncan Cantor, points out that, with this guidance, NICE confirmed that Pradaxa is a cost-effective option for patients at £2.52 per day, but he adds that the firm believes "it is important to make our medicines as affordable as possible in this tough financial climate."